1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for concealing snow retention members on a roof. More particularly, the present invention provides a mechanism for improving the aesthetic look of snow retention members or snow guards and minimizing the visibility of undesirable structures on the roof, and for providing a cover to slow down the deterioration process of the plastic snow retention device.
2. State of the Art
Retaining of snow mass is a problem encountered by many types of roofs in climates which receive considerable amounts of snow. On metal and other types of roofs, large masses of snow can break free of the roof and slide off onto individuals standing next to a building, or on plants around the building. The weight of snow sliding off the roof can be several thousand pounds and can potentially injure an individual standing adjacent to the roof. Additionally, it can break tree limbs, damage other types of plants and even damage landscape lighting, vehicles, gutters, skylights, etc.
For this reason, many roofs which are prone to sliding snow have snow retention members disposed thereon. The snow retention members are designed to prevent a large mass of snow from sliding off the roof at a given time. Rather, the snow is held in place and allowed to melt or slide off in much smaller masses.
There are currently numerous different types of retaining members or snow guards for preventing snow slides. One commonly used type of snow guard is made from bent or cast pieces of metal which are configured to retain the snow while being aesthetically pleasing. Most of such presently available devices, however, lack the structural rigidity to withstand thousands of pounds of snow, or are too small to catch a sufficient amount of snow to be effective, while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing design. Thus, it is not uncommon for them to be damaged by the snow. Furthermore, metal snow guards which are larger and stronger, or which are decoratively formed to be more aesthetically pleasing tend to be fairly expensive. Due to the large number of snow guards which are necessary on a typical roof, the cost of installing these metal snow guards can be quite high. Even the available decorative metal snow guards, however, typically do not match the roofing materials well and may not be visually appealing.
An alternate method for controlling the snow includes the attachment of pieces of plastic to the roof. The pieces of plastic, typically polycarbonates, are attached to the roof and made sufficiently thick to withstand the weight of the snow. However, plastic generally does not look good when attached to the roof of a house or office building. Some have attempted to match the color of the plastic to the color of the roof. However, it is very difficult to get the color of a plastic to match the colors of roofs made out of different materials such as metal, wood, etc. Additionally, the plastics tend to discolor over time and thus look even less like the coloring of the roof. Thus, while presenting a reduction in cost over their metal counterparts, the plastic snow guards tend to be less visually appealing and often result in a less than desirable appearance when installed.
While some companies have formed snow retention members from clear plastics/polycarbonates in an attempt to make them less visually intrusive, these still present problems. While the clear polycarbonate is generally less noticeable than other plastics, it can still be easily observed and does not match the existing roof well. Additionally, over time the ultraviolet radiation of the sun causes plastics to yellow and become brittle, making the snow guards less appealing visually and reducing the strength of the snow guards. Additionally, even the clear plastics/polycarbonates are noticeable on the roof and do not provide an aesthetically pleasing design.
Additionally, available snow guards often lack the structural strength necessary to retain large quantities of snow, or do not grip the snow well, reducing the reliability of the device and increasing the risk that the snow might fall off of the roof and cause damage. Thus, there is a need to provide a more aesthetically pleasing design which will adequately hold the weight of the snow on the roof.